jpal13 wrote:31 here. At what point in law school can you reasonably work? 1st or 2nd semester of year 1? Can the school give you some tips on job searching?

I took the first semester off, but I am teaching 1 night section starting next week, I guess that counts about 5 hours a week. I think here taking on 10-15 hours per week in yours second semester is completely fine (I also spend about 5 hours a week doing pro bono work anyway, and I signed up for a 2nd pro bono project for another 3 or so hours a week). My spring schedule is a bit lighter than Fall.

jpal13 wrote:31 here. At what point in law school can you reasonably work? 1st or 2nd semester of year 1? Can the school give you some tips on job searching?

I took the first semester off, but I am teaching 1 night section starting next week, I guess that counts about 5 hours a week. I think here taking on 10-15 hours per week in yours second semester is completely fine (I also spend about 5 hours a week doing pro bono work anyway, and I signed up for a 2nd pro bono project for another 3 or so hours a week). My spring schedule is a bit lighter than Fall.

Thanks, I'm thinking something small, like 10-20 hrs first semester and get a good feel from that point on. At 31 I just can't stomach not working at all. I don't have kids yet so that helps. Although my partner and I are talking about having one 3L.

Did you find these positions with the help of the school or other students?

I have found myself very self-conscious about going back to school. I feel like I'm in high school and all the kids are going to exclude me when they go out because I don't fit in. It's ridiculous I know. And I also have my own life and relationship but I want some good law school chums as well.

jpal13 wrote:Thanks, I'm thinking something small, like 10-20 hrs first semester and get a good feel from that point on. At 31 I just can't stomach not working at all. I don't have kids yet so that helps. Although my partner and I are talking about having one 3L.

I can't believe I am saying this - but I would suggest not working first semester unless you absolutely have to. I carried on arguments last year with people on here about working 1L year. I still think I could have pulled it off, but it would have been very taxing. I end up not working (got laid off in the summer) and just did the 5-hour pro bono thing and spent more time with my kids. Worked out great, but I can't say I had any time to spare. I mean I could have slacked a bit or took shortcuts, but then I would be slighting myself at school. I got to do everything I wanted to do when it comes to my studying, no sacrifices.

Did you find these positions with the help of the school or other students?

Penn offers a slew of pro bono opportunities to 1Ls. I applied for the adjunct position on my own. Unfortunately there are not a lot of part-time jobs that could fit a law student schedule (we were 9-4:15 M-Th). We have electives in the spring so my schedule is more flexible and lighter. It really depends on your skill set and what you want to do for work.

I have found myself very self-conscious about going back to school. I feel like I'm in high school and all the kids are going to exclude me when they go out because I don't fit in. It's ridiculous I know. And I also have my own life and relationship but I want some good law school chums as well.

Not to make you feel any more self-conscious, but it is true to an extent. I don't necessarily feel excluded - because I didn't really try to be included. But no one invites me to all the house parties. I am ok with that though, I would have to turn them down anyway I think though, this has more to do with being in a relationship than my age. I have a family, and as soon as I leave school I want to go home to my family. It precludes a lot of social activities. And if you don't spend a lot of time with your peers outside of classroom, you will not be in their circle. But on the other hand, you will have a lot more time to study when you are in school. Nothing impedes studying more than chatting with friends.

I'm 31 and just finished my first semester. I think it depends on the school, but my experience has been excellent. There are roughly 75 people in my section; I am either the oldest or the 2nd oldest in my section. It hasn't been an issue, for the most part. I mean, once in a while I feel weird about it, but no one else really cares. It helps that there are other students in my class and section who have families, are married, etc. In a way, I fit in better than a girl in my section who is 28 and married with children because I am single. I have sought out other older students in other sections and older 2Ls and 3Ls, and I've managed to eke out a social life, both in and out of LS.

I also worked throughout first semester. I did not try to get a work-study job because going in I knew it would be critical for my mental/emotional well-being to have something outside of LS. I spend enough time there as it is. I worked between 12-18 hours each week, which was manageable. I definitely worked less in the weeks before my open memo was due, and I took a 3 week leave of absence for finals. (my work knows LS will always come first)

Hopefully it didn't hurt too much! I don't have grades for my finals yet, but I did just fine in my 1 credit and 2 credit classes.

for those of you in law school or those who have graduated, did you find that each professor has been told that you are only taking their class and no others? In UG I have a had a few that got that idea and assigned 200 pages of reading+ a test over the reading within a 2 week period...plus another prof has assigned entire books of 300+ pages to read at the same time with a test the day after the first prof test! I hate it when that happens, and Fall 2011 it seemed to happen frequently. These aren't upper division classes either, I might expect as much from 300-400 level classes, this was 100-200 level classes which kind of blew me away...especially since I am a SLOW reader! LOL!

Can anyone in this thread give advice about the impact of age on job prospects post-graduation? I'm 33 years old and will be starting in the fall. I am considering the options of attending a good law school with full-tuition covered or attending an excellent law school where I would graduate, at the age of 36, with $100,000 (roughly) in debt. One factor that I'm not sure how to weigh is how much more difficult my age will make it for me to get the kind of job that I would need to get to pay back that amount of money. Basically, has anyone on here experienced age discrimination in hiring?

gman1978 wrote:Can anyone in this thread give advice about the impact of age on job prospects post-graduation? I'm 33 years old and will be starting in the fall. I am considering the options of attending a good law school with full-tuition covered or attending an excellent law school where I would graduate, at the age of 36, with $100,000 (roughly) in debt. One factor that I'm not sure how to weigh is how much more difficult my age will make it for me to get the kind of job that I would need to get to pay back that amount of money. Basically, has anyone on here experienced age discrimination in hiring?

You need to be more specific about what is good and what is excellent. If you're talking about Fordham and Columbia, definitely take the debt. I hope that people aren't going to age discriminate. I am an old 1L and I look older than I am.

gman1978 wrote:Can anyone in this thread give advice about the impact of age on job prospects post-graduation? I'm 33 years old and will be starting in the fall. I am considering the options of attending a good law school with full-tuition covered or attending an excellent law school where I would graduate, at the age of 36, with $100,000 (roughly) in debt. One factor that I'm not sure how to weigh is how much more difficult my age will make it for me to get the kind of job that I would need to get to pay back that amount of money. Basically, has anyone on here experienced age discrimination in hiring?

You need to be more specific about what is good and what is excellent. If you're talking about Fordham and Columbia, definitely take the debt. I hope that people aren't going to age discriminate. I am an old 1L and I look older than I am.

gman1978 wrote:Can anyone in this thread give advice about the impact of age on job prospects post-graduation? I'm 33 years old and will be starting in the fall. I am considering the options of attending a good law school with full-tuition covered or attending an excellent law school where I would graduate, at the age of 36, with $100,000 (roughly) in debt. One factor that I'm not sure how to weigh is how much more difficult my age will make it for me to get the kind of job that I would need to get to pay back that amount of money. Basically, has anyone on here experienced age discrimination in hiring?

I will be 34 when I graduate. I can only summarize the stuff I've found on these boards, and it's a mixed bag-- a few 30-ish people said they believed their maturity and WE was nothing but a plus, some other people said they saw their friends struggle at OCI, and attributed it to being older.

I assume you're talking about a big law firm taking you on as a summer associate. My guess is there are some firms whose culture favors younger people and where being in your mid-30's will be viewed negatively. But I seriously doubt being in your mid-thirties makes you unemployable to a corporate law firm--roughly 10% of law school matriculants to T-14 schools (and a larger percentage to lower-ranked schools) will be in our age range (early to mid 30's) at graduation. Even more will be at that age range if they choose to clerk before joining the firm. If Duke didn't think you were a feasible match for the types of jobs that 70% of their graduates will be doing, I don't think they would have admitted you.

I've cruised the associate profiles on some white-shoe law firms, and have found that super-long gaps between college graduation and law school graduation (8-12 years) are rare, possibly even more rare than students in that age range. (I estimate maybe 4% of T-14 matriculants have gaps that long--I would say there are fewer than 1 in 20 attorney profiles with that big a gap). That may be due to self-selection, or age discrimination. But there are some--I found a couple at Skadden, DLA Piper, etc. This probably doesn't help much, but it's where I'm coming from.

gman1978 wrote:Can anyone in this thread give advice about the impact of age on job prospects post-graduation? I'm 33 years old and will be starting in the fall. I am considering the options of attending a good law school with full-tuition covered or attending an excellent law school where I would graduate, at the age of 36, with $100,000 (roughly) in debt. One factor that I'm not sure how to weigh is how much more difficult my age will make it for me to get the kind of job that I would need to get to pay back that amount of money. Basically, has anyone on here experienced age discrimination in hiring?

You need to be more specific about what is good and what is excellent. If you're talking about Fordham and Columbia, definitely take the debt. I hope that people aren't going to age discriminate. I am an old 1L and I look older than I am.

The schools are Duke and Wake Forest.

You can start a topic about it, but I think that Duke is a no-brainer.

gman1978 wrote:Can anyone in this thread give advice about the impact of age on job prospects post-graduation? I'm 33 years old and will be starting in the fall. I am considering the options of attending a good law school with full-tuition covered or attending an excellent law school where I would graduate, at the age of 36, with $100,000 (roughly) in debt. One factor that I'm not sure how to weigh is how much more difficult my age will make it for me to get the kind of job that I would need to get to pay back that amount of money. Basically, has anyone on here experienced age discrimination in hiring?

30+ here at a lower T1.

I went through OCI last fall. I don't believe age was a concern. Don't expect WE/maturity/interview skills to make up for missing credentials like class rank and law review, but don't be concerned about your age either.

I did have some oblique references to age during my screeners. (e.g. how would I handle taking assignments from a 26 year old associate)-- but those were firms that would likely not have been a great fit. (I am substantially older than you too. 43 at 1L orientation.

I'm one who thinks WE is a big advantage. But as one above pointed out, it won't be a silver bullet. I was medianish at Boalt (likely slightly below, but that's just a guess; we get no rank) but I still ended up at a V20 in DC. LR helped, I'm sure.

You really do need to bid well, package yourself well; but doing that, it will smooth over less than ideal grades.

My vote is Duke. You will have a broader base of firms coming to OCI to find that good fit.

jared6180 wrote:for those of you in law school or those who have graduated, did you find that each professor has been told that you are only taking their class and no others? In UG I have a had a few that got that idea and assigned 200 pages of reading+ a test over the reading within a 2 week period...plus another prof has assigned entire books of 300+ pages to read at the same time with a test the day after the first prof test! I hate it when that happens, and Fall 2011 it seemed to happen frequently. These aren't upper division classes either, I might expect as much from 300-400 level classes, this was 100-200 level classes which kind of blew me away...especially since I am a SLOW reader! LOL!

The professors will know that you have other classes; they don't care. There really aren't concerned with how much reading you have for other classes. You are expected to be prepared for thier class period.

Okay, how about some news and updates from Old School Fall 2012 1L folks!

What are some of the things you are doing to prepare for going back to school? Please also indicate if you have a significant other and/or children who will accompany you.

My cycle isn't done yet (I think), but I'm starting to make plans for a move to the Midwest in August. I'm planning to downsize A LOT, and am thinking of renting an RV with some other friends with kids (I have a toddler) to turn the move into a vacation.

The ex is supportive, with the understanding that our DD will visit him twice a year (summer and winter) and we may co-vacation for spring break (at least until she's old enough to travel on her own).

I'm curious, how many folks (if any) bought a house where they went/are going to law school? I'm planning to stay in the area, so I'm kicking around this idea.

Hi. I got a job for the semester working for a Federal Magistrate Judge. I'm also taking 16 credit hours so it's going to be tough but I'm excited. It looks like I'm in the top 3% according to CSO. I am Median in Civ Pro, but at my school they split it up- it was 2 ch last semester and 3 this semester so if bring it up it shouldn't count against my GPA too much. TOmorrow is my oldest daughter's 9th birthday. I'm going to take Saturday off from studying to go to the mall with her. I am so glad to have one semester behind me. I wish I would have gone to law school 5 or 6 years ago!

Hi guys, checking in. I will be turning 30 in May Is it really that bad?!?! I also have a partner and we have a son. I will be starting law school in the fall (though where is still a question) and could use any advice you all have. Thanks.

My good news is that I got the offer for my summer internship yesterday; my top choice! On the other hand, and this is probably just a phase, I'm definitely feeling a little more out of place than usual lately. Just old and like what am I doing here? I'm so far behind, just now doing this, when the average student is 8 years younger than me. Granted, I had a whole other career, but that doesn't matter now. I really like law school, I just wish I had done it "normally" instead of as an oldie.

pkt63 wrote:My good news is that I got the offer for my summer internship yesterday; my top choice! On the other hand, and this is probably just a phase, I'm definitely feeling a little more out of place than usual lately. Just old and like what am I doing here? I'm so far behind, just now doing this, when the average student is 8 years younger than me. Granted, I had a whole other career, but that doesn't matter now. I really like law school, I just wish I had done it "normally" instead of as an oldie.

aww, that's too bad hopefully it really is a phase and you'll have some experience soon that reminds you why this was a good choice....

my experience is the opposite of yours, i feel very grateful to be doing this as an old lady instead of when i was younger. i think it gives me a great sense of perspective and lets me prioritize things differently than i would have 10 years ago. i've had some good things happen in the past few weeks that have confirmed for me that it was the right thing for me and the SO to quit our long term jobs, rent the house, and go cross country to the virtual unknown. it's been kind of awesome, actually.......

i'm the oldest one in my class but to be honest, i think i'm the only one who realizes that or cares. we have a handful of 30+ and a good number of 28-29 year olds, so the class overall is more mature than i expected. and the straight out of undergrads are kind of refreshing to be around (mostly )

pkt63 wrote:My good news is that I got the offer for my summer internship yesterday; my top choice! On the other hand, and this is probably just a phase, I'm definitely feeling a little more out of place than usual lately. Just old and like what am I doing here? I'm so far behind, just now doing this, when the average student is 8 years younger than me. Granted, I had a whole other career, but that doesn't matter now. I really like law school, I just wish I had done it "normally" instead of as an oldie.

I go through this a lot. It's kind of cyclical. Sometimes I see the 25 year olds in the hall talking about what they're doing and I get kind of jealous because they're so young and fun. When I was 25 I was pregnant with my second kid trapped in a horrible marriage so that colors things too. The 5 years that seperates me from them is so much more than 5 years because of my life experiences. Had I gone at 22 and graduated at 25, though, I'd have been practicing for 6 years now!

Other times I am glad I waited to go to law school. I think I am more disciplined than a lot of my classmates. I have a core group of friends who candidly discuss grades and I've noticed we tend to have a significant proportion of the As assigned. I don't know if that is because of age but it's just an observation. I also like not being part of any law school drama either in the classroom or out of it. I'm also glad I am finally here. For the first time I feel like I'm doing something that I not only like but am actually good at! It's a great feeling.

I'll be 32 when I start in the fall. But I will finish my UG this spring so I don't feel too rusty. I'm just nervous about where I'm going to go. I have a home and am getting married in September. I kept my applications to mostly northeast schools and my hometown school is definitely my top choice. Have 5 acceptances but nothing from hometown school yet. I'm very excited about all of this and kind of scared too about the prospect of uprooting when I feel so settled. Either way, I just wanted to chime in. I don't think age matters. I have excelled at UG and earned an internship writing for the local paper this past summer. So excited for LS!! Wherever I end up. Good luck to all of you. I wish you the best.